Frank Herbert

Writer

Born: 8 October 1920

Died: 11 February 1986 (cancer)

Birthplace: Tacoma, Washington

Best known as: Author of the novel Dune

Name at birth: Frank Patrick Herbert, Jr.

Frank Herbert is the author of more than twenty novels, among them 1965's Dune, a classic of the science fiction genre. Herbert grew up in Washington state and spent most of his life along the Pacific coast, where he worked in newspapers, TV and radio before writing short stories and novels in the late 1950s. Dune, first serialized in a magazine in 1964, went on to win Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novel and placed Herbert in the upper tier of American sci-fi authors. The story of a battle for limited natural resources (primarily the spice, melange) and the dangers of political power, Dune was introduced to a new generation of readers in the 1980s, thanks to the David Lynch film version, released in 1984. Books that continued the saga include Dune Messiah (1969); Children of Dune (1976); God Emperor of Dune (1981); Heretics of Dune (1984); and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985). Herbert's other novels include The Green Brain (1966), Hellstrom's Hive (1973) and The Dosadi Experiment (1977).

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Also based on Herbert's classic novel are the TV mini-series Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003)... Kevin J. Anderson and Robert Herbert, Frank's son, have published a series of novels known as Legends of Dune.